Central's Standard named MVP at Vannoy volleyball tourney

Central High School's Jade Baucom celebrates a kill with teammates in the cmapionship match against El Paso Coronado in the Nita Vannoy Memorial Tournament in San Angelo. The Lady Cats repeated as tournament champions with a 25-15, 25-20 win.

Standard-Times photo by Patrick Dove

Central High School's Hanna Horeis (left) and teammate Shelby Warick both dive for a dig in the championship game against El Paso Coronado in the Nita Vannoy Memorial Tournament in San Angelo.

Standard-Times photo by Patrick Dove

Staying a close knit group and working as a team allowed the Central High School Lady Cats to repeat as the Nita Vannoy Memorial Tournament champions with a 25-15, 25-20 win over El Paso Coronado in San Angelo.

Standard-Times photo by Patrick Dove

Central HIgh School's Kaitlyn Standard (15) celebrates one of her 14 kills with teammates during the championship match against El Paso Coronado in the Nita Vannoy Memorial Tournament in San Angelo. The Lady Cats won the match 25-15, 25-20 to win the tournament three years in a row. Standard was named the tournament MVP.

Standard-Times photo by Patrick Dove

Forty teams came to San Angelo last weekend for the largest-ever Nita Vannoy Memorial Volleyball Tournament.

Only one team never lost.

Playing their most inspired ball of the season, the Central High School Lady Cats swept all six matches they played in the event, including a 25-15, 25-20 victory over El Paso Coronado in a championship that wasn't complete until after 11 p.m. Saturday night.

"We are playing so confidently," Central head coach Connie Bozarth said. "They are just fluid together. It looks like that team has been together for a while."

But it hasn't.

The Lady Cats team, even if it doesn't look it, graduated nine seniors and only returned one starter from last year.

That apparently does not matter.

"We pretty much kicked butt," said Central's Kaitlyn Standard, who was named the tournament MVP.

In addition, teammate Alyssa Riddle was the Outstanding Defensive Player of the tournament and Alysha McCreary was named to the all-tournament team.

The most dominating performance of the championship match was turned in by Standard, who led the team with 14 kills.

Nearly every time the ball was set to Standard it resulted in a point as those 14 kills came on just 20 attempts, and she had just one hitting error.

"You were watching a future All-American out there," Bozarth said of Standard. "It was her best match ever. She dominated. She was a total force at the net."

Standard, who was been the lone common denominator in all three of the Lady Cats' consecutive Nita Vannoy titles, was still in shock after the win about being named MVP.

"I've been working so hard these last three years, and I'm so glad it's paying off," Standard said. "I'm so excited right now. I have butterflies in my stomach."

While Standard was leading the way on offense, it was Riddle who was sparkling on defense.

She led the team with 13 digs.

Riddle rarely has to make flashy defensive plays, Bozarth said, because she's always getting a jump on the other team.

"She reads the offense so well, she just waits on it," Bozarth said of Riddle. "It's very understated how she looks. She's probably one of the best defensive players I've ever seen."

McCreary, meanwhile, earned all-tournament honors with another all-around performance in the finals - just like she had turned in all weekend.

She had five kills, two blocks and two digs in the finals.

In her two weeks with the team since moving to San Angelo from California, the 6-foot-2 senior McCreary (whose father is a new assistant volleyball coach at Angelo State) is among the team leaders in just about every category.

"She already has a fan section up there," Bozarth said of McCreary. "She's such a great blocker. The offense has to know where she is."

Not a bad start in San Angelo for McCreary, who has yet to even attend a class at Central.

The first day of school is today, but already all the Lady Cats are earning high marks.